No Shades of Grey? Polarization in social discourse and technology

Date(s): Wednesdays, September 25 - October 23, 2024
Time: 9:30 to 11:30 am
Place:  In-person at St. Paul's Centre in Orillia unless otherwise indicated
Price:  $49 +HST for the whole series; $15 +HST for a single talk.

Recordings will be sent to registered participants following each talk.

Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024

Four exciting 15-minute talks about the future of creativity and sustainability.

Kate Hilliard:  Art - An Agent for Change
Kate Hilliard is the Artistic Director of Arts Orillia where she programs cultural and educational events for her community. She is faculty at Toronto Metropolitan University and her creative work has been presented in North America and abroad. Hilliard was most recently featured at The Venice International Art Fair. Her “Artist's Book” titled Nature It Is… for Canadian dance icon, Margie Gillis, was launched at the National Arts Centre in 2024. Kate lives on the Black River in Washago, Ont. with her family. https://katehilliard.net/

Jacob Kearey-Moreland: Food Literacy
Jacob is a PhD student in Educational Studies at Lakehead University (Orillia) researching community food literacy and teacher education. He teaches courses at Lakehead related to democracy and social justice education and is developing the course “Sustainable Practices in Agriculture” for Georgian College. He currently serves as VP for his local National Farmers Union, board member of The Sharing Place Food Centre, chairs Orillia’s Food Access and Sustainability Working Group, and coordinates the Farm Lab - an agroecological learning commons and K-12-school outreach program. An agroecologist, community gardener and seed librarian, Jacob is passionate about food systems transformation and the joy of growing and sharing food. 

Sean Rees:  Ai - A Creative Tool
Sean Rees is an artist and educator with a focus in web design, typography, and the graphic arts. His creative practice includes photography, illustration, animation, and sound composition for digital projects and his work has been presented in galleries in Canada, the U.S., and Germany. Sean is a passionate teacher and currently works with elementary students in the Simcoe County District School Board in the areas of art and technology. He instructs undergraduates at Rasmussen and Lakehead University and enjoys drawing every week at the Orillia Youth Centre where he holds classes in his role as design manager at Arts Orillia.  https://birdbraindesign.ca/

Heidi Strauss: You Are Swimming Here
Heidi Strauss is a dance artist with a curiosity in examining human behavior from different perspectives. She explores relationships as a way to consider the ‘realness’ of where and who we are - often responding to the current social and environmental moment. In playing with how performance is seen/experienced, she creates post-immersive, installation, ambulatory, and site-sensitive works for theatre, non-theatre and digital environments, reconfiguring the roles of audience and performer to deepen connection with others and invite self-reflection. A KM Hunter and multi-Dora Award winning choreographer, Heidi is the artistic director of Toronto-based adelheid, and holds an MFA from the Transart Institute/Liverpool John Moore’s University. https://adelheid.ca

Attendees should ensure that they bring their smart phone to this event in order to be able to experience the Augmented Reality (AR) portion of the lecture.

Ali Ryder, Niagara College
Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024

Creating a safe, welcoming, and fun environment, this presentation will outline the differences between gender, sex, and sexuality, distinguishing between the biological determination of sex and the social construction of gender and sexuality. Throughout her own journey, Ali continuously adapted and evolved to changes in attitudes and behaviours, while also recognizing the impact of gender and sexuality issues on those allies who love and support members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Using personal, real-life examples, Ali will facilitate a journey through a broad spectrum of sexual and gender identities, investigating the origin of our own biases, aiming to unpack them within a lens of equity, diversity, and inclusivity.

Alison (Ali) Ryder has always been passionate about helping others and completed her first degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies at Brock University. Working in long-term care for 10 years, while also volunteering with palliative care, Ali showcased her desire to positively impact individuals as well as the community. Finding herself often sharing new skills and ideas with the seniors participating in her recreation programs, Ali discovered a love for teaching, and returned to school to obtain her Bachelors of Adult Education.

Ali has since earned her Master of Education in Leadership, is a contributing author to an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) textbook delivered in post-secondary institutions throughout Canada and is regularly invited to speak at events and conferences.

Kevin Keystone
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024

Kevin Keystone is a student and practitioner of navigating complex conflicts. A trained mediator, negotiation teacher, and conflict coach, he studied Religion, Conflict and Peace at Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the Palestine/Israel conflict and differing views on Zionism.

In his work—and in this talk—he will explore how to connect with others across deep divides, or “how to love those whose ideas you hate.” As a community organizer, he grapples with the central question of when to get into or out of conflict. His insights are rooted both in study and in practical experience, offering a thoughtful approach to some of the most challenging issues of our time.